Michael de Dora asked on his FB page if you agreed with the sentiment on AA’s newest billboard that said ALL religions are scams. I said no. To scam implies that there is willful intent to deceive; the purpose of the deception is immaterial (be it to rope other people into agreeing with you or to steal from them or whatever reason). I have no doubt that most religious groups truly believe they are helping their members and doing good for their community, and they may very well be. Whether you agree with them or not is another issue. However, disagreeing or holding opposite beliefs does not mean the other party is scamming its members.
At the same time there are “religious organizations” out there that are definitely scamming their members (or at the very least are involved in some shady dealings). The “churches” of people like Joyce Meyers, Joel Olsteen, Benny Hinn, and Peter Poppof are some that I would classify as scams. I am by no means an accomodationist but I will not be using a broad brush to paint all religions as scams. I believe the debate can be of higher quality than this and I think AA can do better. The bus campaign slogans and the “It’s a myth” campaign were more effective in my opinion.
I have to chastise Bill O’ on his crap handling of the interview though. The “ebb and flow of the tides is unexplainable”. Really? Hey Bill, how about they are the result of the combined effects of the Eath’s rotation and the gravitational tugs of the sun and moon on our planet, how ’bout that one huh? No need for goddidit (and shame on David Silverman for being stunned into silence by this one!). Also I must suggest that Bill O’ see an orthopedic doctor immediately. When he asked David where religious people had put up offensive billboards and David told him all over the Jersey Turnpike (specifically off exit 8A) Bill O’ did a turnaround so fast to avoid his answer that I’m sure he’s gotta be suffering from severe whiplash!

I had not seen the scam ads before this video, and I agree that the myth ads were likely more effective.

I wanted to point more out about Bill’s idiocy, namely the tides thing. I mean, come on. If the best rationale you have for believing in God is tides, then it’s the dumb house you deserve.

I bet Silverman was kicking himself for letting that one slide. I don’t know what I would be like if I were across the table from that asshole.

Finally billboards. After driving 720 miles to North Carolina, Tina and I had our fill of religious billboards. There was one that said, “Heaven or Hell: It’s your choice.” There were ones that said “Jesus is Real” and “Hell is Real.” That’s just the few I made note of. There were crosses galore, and many other religious signs. There are huge churches built along the way, and if you look hard there are messages on many of their marquees.

I wanted to go to church with my family, and I support their decisions to be religious. I bowed my head at prayers, and I followed along the best I could with their traditions. I think if I were put off by something, I would have said something. But for the most part, I wanted them to feel comfortable celebrating their holiday with family.

Should I ever get a soap box to stand on, I would definitely say what I think. But it’s not necessary in that scenario.

I believe that O’Reilly is helping our cause, though. It takes very little effort to see how dumb he is, and I hope he keeps putting Atheists on his show so people can be forced to think about it more and more often.